


Other Tales

by The_Blonde_and_the_Brunette



Series: The Warrior Cats [2]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Backstory, Ceremony, F/M, Jealousy, Naming Ceremony, RiverClan (Warriors), ShadowClan (Warriors), Slice of Life, Struggle to survive, ThunderClan (Warriors), Unrequited Love, Warrior Cats, WindClan (Warriors), dog attack, imperfect leaders, silent vigil gone wrong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-02-03 19:17:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12754518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Blonde_and_the_Brunette/pseuds/The_Blonde_and_the_Brunette
Summary: This is where I will post all the sidestory and backstory snippets from Petals Among the Cinders





	1. The Naming Ceremony

**Author's Note:**

> hiya guys  
> so this is just some backstory/sidestory info for the story Petals Among the Cinders. 
> 
> p.s. I don't own anything from the warriors series by Erin Hunter
> 
> if you have any suggestions for anymore backstory from the work you would like to see, please let me know,
> 
> The Blonde

“Then by the power of Starclan, I give you your warrior name! Dawnpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Dawnheart! Starclan honors your ambition and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan!”

The mews that echoed in the quarry were deafening as the recovering Thunderclan welcomed their two new warriors, and Stonefall felt his chest swell with pride as he spotted his mother Rainstorm raising her voice to shout her only son’s name. The disease had taken his other two brothers from her before they could become warriors. Now he could stand proudly beside his clan mates and protect them all in the moons to come.

Dawnheart turned towards him with a purr, but Froststar whispered, “remember neither of you can speak until sunrise. Tradition is more important now than ever.” Her hard green eyes were on her daughter as the younger copy whipped her head away furiously, tail lashing.

Froststar turned to Stonefall and nodded her head, “have a good watch, warrior.” And then she turned and beckoned to Birchclaw as she made her way to her den above, etched into the cliff place.

Birchclaw nodded at them as well as he slipped off after his leader.

 

The moon was directly over the hollow, bathing it in light as Stonefall shifted on a rock he was sitting on, using it to stay awake and alert. Beside him Dawnheart was cleaning her glossy white pelt meticulously, and ignored any head jerkings and tail proddings from her neighbor in order to get her to stop.

 _She’s never really cared about the code_ , Stonefall let his whiskers twitch in annoyance, then looked up and breathed out slowly as he started to count the warriors of Starclan above him. Whiskerpaw and Redpaw were somewhere up there, and he hoped they were happy for him. _I promise to be a good enough warrior for all three of us._ He silently vowed.

Whiskers brushed his ear as Dawnheart pressed her muzzle against the soft shell to whisper, “we will be the greatest warriors this clan has ever seen.”

Stonefall was so shocked she was talking that it allowed Dawnheart to slide closer, pressing against his pelt, “we were made to be a team, you and I, Stonefall, and together we can accomplish anything.”

The solid grey tom jerked away from her, breathing heavily as his pelt stood on end. He practically raced to the other side of the clearing, well away from Dawnheart, who shook as if with laughter at his reaction. Stonefall was still reeling with confusion and anger as she rolled on her back and swiped at his face as though in play. Apparently his glare finally sank in though, for she rolled back onto her stomach and leveled one of her own back at him.

For the rest of the night, neither could take their eyes off of the other, but for entirely different reasons.

When the sun rose, Stonefall finally tore his eyes away from the lounging white she-cat and turned to see his old mentor Hawkstep trot up to him. “Why don’t you go and take a nap,” the black tom mewed, “and then you can go on the sunhigh patrol with me and Dawnheart.”

Stonefall jerked his head in a nod, and stumbled into the warrior’s nest with Dawnheart behind him. Even though he ignored her, she curled into a ball next to him. Stonefall looked over his shoulder at her pelt, moving slowly and evenly since she was still asleep, and then looked up to find his mother watching them. Rainstorm nodded back at him as she slipped out of the den.

 _Great,_ He huffed, _by sunhigh everyone will think we are mates._ He glanced down at Dawnheart as she snuffled closer, warmth thawing his heart. He had known her for so long, they were practically brother and sister. And he knew Dawnheart, once she had decided her heart was set on something, she perused it relentlessly. Now it was him.

 _I love you,_ he thought, _but not like you need me to._ He sighed, and then licked her head before closing his eyes himself. It looked like being a warrior was already getting pretty complicated. He just hoped the fact that she had dared talk during their vigil did not bode ill for the clan in the future.


	2. The Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Dog attacks Windclan, and we have insight to Russetstar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, friendly reminder that I do not own anything from the Warriors series by Erin Hunter.
> 
> Cheers Ya'll

 

Russetstar was the oldest of the leaders that watched over the warrior clans that lived around the lake, and as such she liked to believe that she was one of the wisest. Wiser by far than Thunderclan’s prideful leader, than Riverclan’s fading queen, or even the hulking shadow that ruled Shadowclan. But still, despite all the evidence, she seemed to have picked a deputy with thistledown for brains.

Her deputy, currently, was stuck up in the only tree that grew in Windclan’s territory, smack dab in the middle of the camp, with a yowling kit clutched in his jaws and a slavering dog barking at his tail.

_Great Starclan_ , Russetstar pressed her head against the rock outside her den, marveling at the fact that this was her life. _One of my ancestors must have done something absolutely awful._ Another glance earned her a glimpse of Crowtail taking a swipe at the dog, spiting fury, or what he managed to do around the scruff of the kit locked in his jaws.

Russetstar squared her shoulders, resigning herself to the fact that she would give up a life to save her friend and deputy, and a twisted sense of triumph filled her that once again she would haunt him with words spoken long ago. He would be forced to think back on that night, and all the ill choices they had both made since then. _Will he mourn for this life as it bleeds out at his feet? Or will it be ignored like the last?_

Russetstar pulled in a breath to let loose a caterwaul, her paws already carrying her forward to doom, but cut it off as a brown streak shot out of the bundle of thorns that was the nursery, pounded across the clearing and latched on to the back of the dog with a fearful screech.

Russetstar’s eyes widened as the dog gave a frightful yelp, skittering to a stop as it jumped and convulsed in midair in an attempt to knock the cat off. It succeeded, the cat falling with a thud onto the packed clearing, unmoving. A cry from Crowtail had Russetstar forcing herself to leap forward as the dog turned on the prone cat, her muscles screaming in protest as she flexed her claws, digging them into the dog’s side as she swerved past. A yowl behind her made her realize that her warriors had joined the fight, and the amount of snarling cats, coupled with its wounds, was enough to make the dog turn away. It gave one last vengeful snap though, and Russetstar was not quick enough to dodge as its teeth sliced through her haunch. She was frozen in place, the sky revolving around her as the dog slammed her against the ground. There was ringing in her ears as she shook her head, watching as Skytail and Runningflight chased the dog out of the camp, Beetlepaw right on their tails.

A soft mew was startling loud to her ears, cutting through the ringing, and she twisted her head on the ground in time to see Crowtail crouch over the cat that had come to his rescue first, his mate Deerspring. The brown she-cat lifted her head enough to return his greeting, but then it flopped back down, prompting the tom to shuffle closer.

Something like acid bubbled in Russetstar’s gut, her claws scrabbling in the blood that flowed from her haunch as though her muscles were trying to push her towards the other two cats. She clenched her jaw and all but ordered the medicine cat Heatherfoot to go to Deerspring first when she stopped to press cobwebs into the bite mark.

“Harepaw is quite capable here.” Her mew was brisk, no betrayal of the darkness bubbling in her heart, but Heatherfoot swiped her tail over her eyes as she walked away. Russetstar listened to her old friend, and closed her eyes so she wouldn’t see the huddled forms of Crowtail and Deerspring in the hollow.

 

oOoOoOo

 

When next she opened her eyes, she was alone, nothing but the stars to keep her company. Well, _almost alone_ , she ruefully thought, as Heatherfoot blinked beside her.

“They’re both fine,” Her soft mew broke through Russetstar’s thoughts, and an emotion that felt almost like resentment flashed in her heart before she pushed it away.

“Good,” _great Starclan, but my voice sounds awful_. Russetstar struggled to sit up, Heatherfoot letting her leader lean against her fluffy shoulder.

“You know,” the medicine cat mewed, “its ok to just let it all out every once and a while.”

Russetstar snorted, “You know very well that letting it all out is what started all this trouble in the first place.”

Heatherfoot sighed. “This is tearing you apart, Russetstar, and it is not good for you or for the clan.” Russetstar flinched at her words, her mew brittle as she replied,

“You think I don’t know that?” Her claws scraped across the dirt, “you think I’m not aware of – this – _poison_ – eating me inside?” She looked at Heatherfoot. “I can’t stop loving him, Heatherfoot, anymore than I could stop breathing. And, yes, it’s killing me inside little by little everyday, but I. Cannot. Do. Anything.”

Heatherfoot bowed her head in submission, “I understand, Russet-”

“No you don’t,” Russetstar hissed, “you don’t understand that I - ” she lassed her tail – “am a COWARD. I couldn’t move when it was him out there, I was terrified, I could only move when I realized that _idiot_ would jump down there to save _her._ ” Her ears slashed backwards, tucked against her skull, “I hate myself, I hate her, and the thought that scares me most is I’m starting to hate _him_.” She shut her eyes against the wall of rage pounding at the back of her throat.

“That is not cowardice,” Heatherfoot hissed. Russetstar shrank back as the medicine cat seemed to swell, her eyes flashing. “When the loss was just to You, you hesitated, but when the loss was to Him, you prevailed.” She flicked her tail at her leader’s face, “and I refuse to think you hate anyone. You love your clan too much.”

“The clan,” Russetstar laughed, the sound strangled even to her own ears. She struggled to her feet and stared to limp away. “You’re wrong, Heatherfoot,” she glanced over her shoulder to throw her parting shot at the medicine cat, “I’m rotten, the past only proves it. The sooner I lose my last three lives, the better off Windclan and Crowtail will be.” As she uttered the last words, the hair on her hackles lifted.

Heatherfoot was silent as Russetstar retreated to her den, and the leader of Windclan could not stop the thought that pierced her skull, _Wisest of the Clan leaders, indeed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to leave a comment, anything constructive or questions are welcome


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